To date,
there have been over 600,000 HIV/AIDS-related deaths in America.

5000 of
those deaths were in Alabama.

"Ending
the Silence" is a 20-minute documentary film, produced by Jo Mosher and Geena
Marshall, that reports on the history of the AIDS/HIV crisis in Alabama and the
key people and organizations who were (and still are) influential in addressing
the needs of the community. Included in the film are Glenda Elliott
(Founding Member of AIDS/HIV Task Force), Karen Musgrove (President of
Birmingham AIDS Outreach), Bob Burns (Founding Member of AIDS/HIV Task Force),
Kathie Hiers (CEO of AIDS Alabama), Tony Walker (AIDS Alabama Coordinator), Judy
Bridgers (Founding Member of AIDS/HIV Task Force), Chris Hamlin (Counselor at
UAB 1917 Clinic), Wes Akins (Counselor at UAB 1917 Clinic), and Billy Cox
(prominent Birmingham man who died of AIDS).

The Birmingham
metropolitan area ranks 17th nationwide for the number of residents per
capita that tested positive for HIV, according to a Human Rights
Campaign report. The Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest
civil rights organization for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender
rights, cites HIV diagnosis data collected by the Center for Disease
Control in 2011.

Additionally, the Atlanta metropolitan area had the eighth highest
number of people diagnosed with HIV in 2011, and the Dallas metropolitan
area had the 16th highest.

"It's important to raise awareness and for people to know there are
resources available to protect themselves," said HRC spokesman Hubert
Tate.

Previously, AL.com reported that a total of 204.7 of every 100,000
people in Alabama lived with HIV/AIDS in 2010 -- a prevalence well below
the national average. Still, nine Alabama counties exceeded the
national HIV/AIDS prevalence in 2010: Barbour, Bullock, Dallas,
Jefferson, Lowndes, Macon, Mobile, Russell and Montgomery, which had
more than double the national prevalence.

Alabama also had the 10th highest HIV incidence in the United States in
2010, with 20.4 people of every 100,000 testing newly positive for HIV.
Leading the nation, 38.3 people of every 100,000 in Maryland were newly
diagnosed in 2010.

Young black men are the most at risk for HIV infection in Alabama. They
represent the majority of infections from age 15 to 29, with 10 times
the risk of becoming infected with HIV as the average Alabamian,
according to Alabama Department of Health Statistics.

CDC Facts and Figures: AIDS/HIV Epidemic
At the end of 2003, an estimated 1,039,000 to 1,185,000 persons in the
United States were living with HIV/AIDS.
In 2003, 32,048 cases of HIV/AIDS were reported from the 33 areas (32
states and the US Virgin Islands) with long-term, confidential
name-based HIV reporting.
When all 50 states are considered, CDC estimates that approximately
40,000 persons become infected with HIV each year.

In 2003, men who have sex with men (MSM) represented the largest
proportion of HIV/AIDS diagnoses, followed by adults and adolescents
infected through heterosexual contact.
In 2003, almost three quarters of HIV/AIDS diagnoses were made for male
adolescents and adults.

Persons of minority races and ethnicities are disproportionately
affected by HIV/AIDS. In 2003, African Americans, who make up
approximately 12% of the US population, accounted for half of the
HIV/AIDS cases diagnosed.

During the mid-to-late 1990s, advances in treatment slowed the
progression of HIV infection to AIDS and led to dramatic decreases in
AIDS deaths. Although the decrease in AIDS deaths continues (3% decrease
from 1999 through 2003), the number of AIDS diagnoses increased an
estimated 4% during that period.

Better treatments have also led to an
increasing number of persons in the United States who are living with
AIDS. From the end of 1999 through the end of 2003, the number of
persons in the United States who were living with AIDS increased from
311,205 to 405,926—an increase of 30%.

Basic Info: AIDS/HIV Fact Sheet

Human
Immunodeficiency Syndrome,
more commonly know as HIV, is a virus that, if left untreated, slowly
damages the body's immune system.
Without a strong, healthy immune system, the body becomes susceptible to
many infections and illnesses.
If
a person living with HIV becomes sick with one of the more serious types
of these infections, they are said to have Acquired Immunodeficiency
Syndrome or AIDS. While there is no cure for HIV or AIDS, people are
living long productive lives, thanks to HIV medicines
and aggressive treatment programs.

How HIV is
Transmitted:

Contrary to public perception, you can't get HIV infected by drinking
from a water fountain, sitting on a toilet seat, hugging or touching an
HIV infected person, or by eating off plates and utensils.

The following
are ways HIV can be transmitted from one person to another:

-By way of
bodily fluids (blood, semen, and vaginal secretions) during sexual
contact. Saliva is not considered a transmission route for HIV.

-By sharing
needles to inject drugs. Infected blood can be exchanged between the
parties who are using the same needle and syringe.

Maintaining Equilibrium and the 'Dividing
and Conquering' Technique. This article is intended for a person
diagnosed with HIV/AIDS, or those who have a friend/partner with
HIV/AIDS.

The Center for Disease Control estimates
that currently 1.2 million people in the United States are living with
HIV infection. New infections continue at a high level, with
approximately 50,000 Americans becoming infected with HIV each year.

In this article we will discuss taking
control of life. If you, or your friend/partner, has begun to learn to
live with HIV, then you may have realized that in spite of an
inescapable infection and the inevitable accompanying emotions, you’re
in charge. Three ways you can help yourself or your friend/partner
begin taking control of life include dividing and conquering, positive
denial, and maintaining equilibrium.

1 - Dividing and Conquering

First, let’s discuss dividing and
conquering. Dan, age 27, had stated, “My life is over. Having HIV is
just too much for me to handle.” However, Dan began to cut his
overwhelming and insoluble problems into manageable, solvable parts by
dividing and conquering. There are three steps you can take to divide
and conquer.
-- First, Dan had divided his problems into those that had solutions and
those that did not.
-- Next, he focused on the problems that had solutions and accepted
those that did not.

For example, Dan had been worrying about how his family would deal with
his death. But, there is no way to solve the problem that your death
will cause problems for your family. Perhaps you can solve some of the
problems actually caused by your death. Can you think of anything you
can do now to make your passing easier?

In addition to dividing problems into
those which have solutions and those that do not have solutions, and
focusing on the problems with solutions and accepting those that do not,
the third step to dividing and conquering is for you or your
friend/partner to begin to implement solutions. Dan acknowledged this
and stated, “You know, I’m a real junk collector. I should probably get
rid of all the stuff that I have so my family doesn’t have to deal with
it when I’m gone.”

Another HIV victim, Stephanie, viewed the
divide and conquer technique as a way to escape the ‘big picture.’
Stephanie, age 33, stated, “I just solve little problems, one at a
time. You’d be surprised, but they add up. So I’ve just focused on
making each day better, and, before you know it, I had a few good
years.”

2 - Positive Denial

Second, let’s examine positive denial. Aaron’s HIV had progressed
rapidly due to genital herpes. At first, Aaron stated, “That sounds
like an oxymoron, like you want me to avoid facing the facts,” regarding
positive denial. However, whether denial is positive or negative depends
on what you are denying. Denial is negative if you deny your infection
and live inappropriately by putting yourself or others at greater risk.
Denial that admits both the realities of today and the unpredictability
of tomorrow can be positive.

For example, if you are preoccupied with
uncertainty about the future or death, but need a new car, you can use
positive denial to deny doubt regarding the future and perhaps purchase
a new car on a finance plan. Aaron later stated, “You really do have to
deny some of this stuff. It still makes me sad to think about death,
but death hasn’t happened yet, so I need to live while I can.”

3 - Maintaining Equilibrium

In addition to dividing and conquering and positive denial, a third way
you might begin taking control of your life is by maintaining
equilibrium. As you know, living with an HIV infection requires
balancing hope and uncertainty. Robert stated, “The balance is tricky. I
think the best way to manage it is to reduce stress.”

Dan, who divided and conquered the problem
of how his death would affect his family, stated, “The best way to
maintain equilibrium is to adhere to the medication.” Dan had used a
simple five step technique to assess his ability to adhere to medication
treatment before beginning. Dan stated, “First, I got a thirty day
supply of once-a-day vitamins. Then, I marked my start date and, thirty
days later, my end date on a calendar. I decided it might help, so I
also wrote the beginning and end dates on the vitamin bottle.”

Dan then began taking the vitamins once a
day. After thirty days, Dan reached his end date and checked the bottle
to see how many vitamins were left over. Dan evaluated himself on his
adherence using a percentage scale. Dan later stated, “By knowing where
I stood on adherence ahead of time, I think I was better prepared when I
got going on the real medication.”

We have discussed taking control of life.
Three ways you can begin taking control of your life includes dividing
and conquering, positive denial, and maintaining equilibrium.

AIDS was first identified in the USA in 1981. The epidemic
has now spread to every part of the USA and to all sectors
of society. It is thought that more than
one million people are living with HIV in the USA and that
more than half a million have died after developing AIDS.

American HIV surveillance data
are not comprehensive so many statistics must be based on
reports of AIDS diagnoses. In interpreting such AIDS
statistics, it is important to remember that they do not
correspond to new HIV infections. Most people live with HIV
for several years before developing AIDS.

People living with AIDS

At the end of 2004, the
CDC estimates that 415,193 people were living with AIDS in
the USA.Of these,

-35% were white

-43% were black

-20% were Hispanic

-1% were of other
race/ethnicity

Of the adults and adolescents
with AIDS, 77% were men. Of these men,

-58% were men who had sex with
men (MSM)

-21% were injection drug users
(IDU)

-11% were exposed through
heterosexual contact

-8% were both MSM and IDU

Of the 93,566 adult and
adolescent women with AIDS,

-64% were exposed through
heterosexual contact

-34% were exposed through
injection drug use.

An estimated 3,927 children
were living with AIDS at the end of 2004, of whom 97%
probably acquired the infection from their mothers.

People with AIDS are surviving
longer and are contributing to a steady increase in the
number of people living with AIDS. This trend will continue
as long as the number of new diagnoses exceeds the number of
people dying each year.

AIDS
diagnoses and deaths

In June 1981, the first cases of what is now known as AIDS
were reported in the USA. During the 1980s, there were rapid
increases in the number of AIDS cases and deaths of people
with AIDS. Cases peaked with the 1993 expansion of the case
definition, and then declined. The most dramatic drops in
both cases and deaths began in 1996, with the widespread use
of combination antiretroviral therapy.

The rate of decrease in AIDS
diagnoses slowed in the late 1990s. After reaching a
plateau, the number of diagnoses increased slightly each
year from 2001 to 2004. There were an estimated 42,514
diagnoses in 2004. In total, an estimated 944,306 people
have been diagnosed with AIDS.

The number of deaths among people with AIDS remained
relatively stable in the period 1999-2003, before dropping
slightly to an estimated 15,798 deaths in 2004. Since the
beginning of the epidemic, an estimated 529,113 people with
AIDS have died in the USA.

Who is affected by AIDS?

During the 1990s, the epidemic shifted steadily toward a
growing proportion of AIDS cases among black people and
Hispanics and in women, and toward a decreasing proportion
in MSM, although this group remains the largest single
exposure group. Black people and Hispanics have been
disproportionately affected since the early years of the
epidemic. In absolute numbers, blacks have outnumbered
whites in new AIDS diagnoses and deaths since 1996, and in
the number of people living with AIDS since 1998.

From 2000 to 2004, the estimated number of new AIDS cases
increased in all racial/ethnic groups. Over the same period,
the estimated number of new AIDS diagnoses increased by 10%
among women and by 7% among men. The number of new cases
probably due to heterosexual contact grew by 20%, and the
number probably due to sex between men grew by 15%, but the
number among injecting drug users fell by 12%.

During 2004 there were an estimated 48 paediatric AIDS
diagnoses, compared to 190 in 1999 and 823 in 1994. The
decline in paediatric AIDS incidence is associated with more
HIV testing of pregnant women and the use of zidovudine
(AZT) by HIV-infected pregnant women and their newborn
infants.

The age group 35-44 years accounted for 39% of all AIDS
cases diagnosed in 2004. Nearly three-quarters of all people
who have died with AIDS did not live to the age of 45.

(From: Avert.Org)

AIDS
Education

On December 1, World AIDS Day 2005, the
Sexuality Information and Education Council of the U.S. ( SIECUS )
reaffirms our commitment to raise awareness of the HIV/AIDS pandemic
both in the U.S. and worldwide. In observance of this year's theme,
Stop AIDS - Keep the Promise, SIECUS will continue to promote the
importance of comprehensive, medically accurate sexuality education as
the mainstay in HIV prevention.

"To keep the promise of a world free of AIDS, both here in the U.S. and
worldwide, we must recognize young people's right to healthy sexuality.
This includes the right to comprehensive sexuality information and
education," said Joseph DiNorcia, Jr., president and CEO of SIECUS.

"HIV prevention does not exist in a vacuum, and young people require a
wide range of services and support. Without honest and complete
education, other interventions to keep our youth HIV-free are
meaningless," DiNorcia continued.

This generation of young people has not known a world without AIDS. For
too many young people, AIDS is not an abstraction-it has touched their
lives. Often AIDS has taken a gruesome toll on their communities and
families, and many young people, especially in the countries hardest hit
by the pandemic, are coming of age as HIV-positive people. Young people
ages 15-24 account for half of all the new cases of HIV worldwide. Every
minute, five young people worldwide become infected with HIV. This
figure represents over 7,000 young people each day. Yet only 20% of
people worldwide who need prevention services have access to them.

"Young people can and must be part of solving the HIV/AIDS crisis.
Providing them with accurate and complete information about their sexual
health not only serves to protect their health and safety, but also
creates the next generation of informed educators and community
leaders," said DiNorcia.

U.S. support for global HIV-prevention programs, however, seems geared
to keeping young people in the dark rather than empowering them to make
informed choices about relationships, sex, and their futures. The
President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the guiding
policy for global HIV/AIDS funding, offers no policy support or funding
for comprehensive HIV-prevention programs. Instead, PEPFAR will provide
not less than $133 million annually to abstinence-until-marriage
programs in each of 15 "focus countries" in Africa and the Caribbean, as
well as Vietnam , totaling at least $665 million over five years.
Research on the effectiveness of such programs in the U.S. has been
inconclusive at best and at worst has shown potential harm to the sexual
health of young people.

"While the commitment of the United States government in stemming the
tide of HIV/AIDS is laudable, the great potential of this initiative is
being lost because the politics and ideology of the Bush Administration
are trumping public health needs," said DiNorcia. "We cannot keep young
people in the dark if we expect to fight the spread of HIV/AIDS in any
meaningful way," DiNorcia continued.